This article gives an historical overview of sizing and ground recipes for oil painting, collected from Western European sources dating from 1600 to 1900. Recipes have been entered into an electronic database, which allows them to be analysed according to various categories. Layer build-ups for different periods, supports and geographical areas are summarized. Differences were seen between Southern and Northern European recipes, with more red or brown grounds mentioned in Southern European sources. In general, strongly coloured grounds become less popular towards the 19sup>th</sup> century, with mainly light coloured grounds appearing in recipes from the second half of that period. -- CCI=IC